Leaving on a jet plane

In about six hours I'll be picked up by my friend Robert and driven to Frankfurt International Airport. A mere two hour drive from Aachen but we are not taking any chances come hell or high water, I'll be on that plane and flying towards the States.

I haven't been home in a year. Its time for a reunion with Mother America. Father Deutschland is fun and I enjoy it for the most part, but I miss the simplicity of life, suburbs and good mexican food. Okay, much more than that I miss my family and friends and cannot wait to celebrate the holidays with them. I can already imagine the food, the drinks and the good times we'll have. This year, my German friend Marcus will be joining me and my family for the holidays. It will be so nice to fly transatlantic with someone again. I hate flying alone on that flight because its ten hours long and I have to becareful where I fall asleep. With Marcus next to me, I can snore, drool and whatever all I want. Big plus.

My feelings about Germany haven't' changed much. I've come to grips with living here and have gotten used to it for the most part. I enjoy living here and I know there are many things I'll move when I move back to the States. If only Germany were closer.....

Where else can one listen to French, German, Spanish and English music on the radio within in the hour? That is one thing I know I'll miss. I haven't been to the States for a year. We'll see my feelings on international living when I return on the 4th day of the new year.

The dollar slid a bit this morning, thats good news for me. :)

A little Weihnachtsgedicht

For my Denglish speaking friends:



A little Weihnachtsgedicht



When the snow falls wunderbar
And the children happy are,
When the Glatteis on the street,
And we all a Glühwein need,
Then you know, es ist soweit:

She is here, the Weihnachtszeit
Every Parkhaus is besetzt,
Weil die people fahren jetzt
All to Kaufhof, Mediamarkt,
Kriegen nearly Herzinfarkt.
Shopping hirnverbrannte things
And the Christmasglocke rings.

Mother in the kitchen bakes
Schoko-, Nuss- and Mandelkeks
Daddy in the Nebenraum
Schmücks a Riesen-Weihnachtsbaum
He is hanging off the balls,
Then he from the Leiter falls...
Finally the Kinderlein
To the Zimmer kommen rein
And it sings the family
Schauerlich: "Oh, Chistmastree!"
And the jeder in the house
Is packing the Geschenke aus.

Mama finds unter the Tanne
Eine brandnew Teflon-Pfanne,
Papa gets a Schlips and Socken,
Everybody does frohlocken.
President speaks in TV,
All around is Harmonie,
Bis mother in the kitchen runs:
Im Ofen burns the Weihnachtsgans.
And so comes die Feuerwehr
With Tatü, tata daher,
And they bring a long, long Schlauch
And a long, long Leiter auch.
And they schrei - "Wasser
marsch!",
Christmas now is in the ...
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...

I miss academia

Its amazing how much I miss academia, researching and having deep, fact driven conversations on global events, policy and how the history leading up to that point.

I've got to return to this. Soon.

Economics PSA

Dear Consumers

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that economics is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Somebody says we're in a recession and magically...the numbers aren't looking so good anymore. Someone says we're in a period of economic growth...and magically we feel inclined to buy a new BMW.

The media isn't helping the situation with their sensationalistic style of reporting which over-dramatizes ever move the markets, the Fed and the Treasury make.

Ugh.

Dear Pechvogel

Dear Pechvogel-

Stop being lazy.

You've got lots to do. Sadly, there is only 24 hours in a day. Utilize your time wisely.

Love,

Yourself in 20 years

Schloss Burg

While my Mom and brother were in town, we decided we would go see a German castle 'in the flesh' so to speak. Because I live at least a five hour drive from that picture perfect Neuschwanstein Castle made famous by the Disney castle, we decided we'd look for something closer to Aachen.


In Solingen, about an hours drive from Aachen is a castle by the name of Schloss Burg. Schloss Burg is an aesthetically appeasing castle situated at the foot of the Wupper valley. First built in the 12th century the castle had an interesting history. In the 15th century Swedish soldiers lay siege to the castle destorying most of the infracstructre. However, it was rebuilt to achieve its glory today. Schloss Burg is the largest reconstructed castle in the State of North-Rhine Westphalia.

However, the Castle was quite a disappointment. Whoever is in charge of maintaing the integrity of the castle and its history has failed miserably. While the outside continues to stand in true historic fashion, the inside has become victim to what can only be described as venture capitalist. The weekend we were there (November 1) the Castle administrators thought it would be a good idea to host an arts, crafts and handmade goods. While there is nothing wrong with allowing local vendors to peddle their goods inside the castle lawn, it is not acceptable to allow them to market their products inside the actual castle! In addition to this travesty, vendors were hanging their goods off of 400 year old tapestry's, blocking the view of many beautiful works of art and more. I'm very disappointed in the historical associations failure to preserve the integrity of such a beautiful castle and an important facet of German/European history.

What is Foreign Policy?

The American Heritage dictionary defines foreign policy quite simply:

The diplomatic policy of a nation in its interactions with other nations.

Interaction with other nations. In my interpretation of this definition (and its just all about interpretation, isn't it?) leads me to believe that someone who has had personal interaction with other nations/states would be better prepared to offer an opinion on foreign policy.

If you don't have this personal experience, I suggest you get some. It's amazing what opening your eyes to the world can make you realize how much you love your home country.

The United States can teach so many countries so many things. However, we can also learn something too. There is more than one way to skin a cat, run a country, peel an orange or however you wish to express it.

Someone who doesn't have a passport shouldn't be responsible for representing us abroad.